Calorific value of forage

The energy that is stored in ecosystems is the result of photosynthetic efficiency of the plants and it is measured in calories. The purpose of this paper was to study the effect of different management practices, carried out in the pastures around the lakes Zazari and Cheimaditida, as well as the types of vegetation on the caloric value of forage material. For each region and each type of vegetation the aboveground herbaceous production was measured and the calorific content per gram of dry weight and calorific value were determined. The results showed that the calorific content expressed in Kcalories/g of dry weight is greater in silvopastoral systems of the two wetland regions. Higher calorific content of dry weight was also recorded for the pastures of Cheimaditida in relation to the pastures of Zazari. The interaction of two factors (vegetation type x region) revealed that the silvopastoral system of Cheimaditida contained the highest calorific content followed by the grasslands of Cheimaditida, the silvopastoral system of Zazari and finally the grasslands of Zazari. The calorific value was greater for grasslands in relation to silvopastoral systems for both regions and was also greater for the pastures of Cheimaditida than the pastures of Zazari.